Plea likely in firearms case against Iqaluit man

A departmental director at Nunavut Tunngavik Inc., currently on leave from his job, appeared at the Nunavut Court of Justice in Iqaluit Aug. 15 to connection with three charges stemming from a May 16 firearms incident.

David Kunuk, 41, NTI’s director of implementation, is charged with two counts of careless use of a firearm and one count of resisting arrest.

Wearing a black, hooded sweatshirt with a collared shirt underneath, Kunuk’s appearance before Justice Robert Kilpatrick lasted about five minutes, before Kilpatrick set the case back until Sept. 9.

Kunuk’s lawyer and the Crown prosecutor could not speak to the matter because of scheduling and vacation issues.

The Aug. 15 matter had been set for a plea, but that is now on hold, although the court did hear that the two lawyers are working on a resolution to the matter.

On May 16, RCMP members responded to a firearms incident in the 100s section of Iqaluit near the breakwater.

Kunuk was subsequently arrested in association with that incident.

A candidate in the December 2012 NTI presidential election, Kunuk won the popular vote in Iqaluit, but finished sixth out of 10 candidates in the Nunavut-wide vote.